Update on Lost/Never Sent/ Neverland Paperwork

Thursday afternoon and Friday were very long days for me as I spent the majority of the time on the phone or e-mailing our U.S. Government.  I love this country but the bureaucratic mess that it can create is ridiculous.  I could go on and on about how much trouble we've had, but if you are my Facebook friend, you've seen my status updates and if you are on the YG, you know I've been frustrated and panicked so I'm not going to reiterate it all here.  Friday evening around 4:00, I received a call from our Congressman's office that the National Visa Center had finally agreed to resend our updated paperwork to the US Embassy in Ethiopia.  We should know by Tuesday if it was actually sent AND received.  Please keep praying that this paperwork nightmare will be resolved quickly!

Now, the next bit of prayer concern revolves around airline schedules.  Imagine this - there are some kinks that are making it a lot more difficult for us to fly directly into Nashville from Washington D.C. on Nov. 28th.  Hopefully we will get all the details worked out and our tickets purchased on Monday - please pray!

I am not near as stressed right now as I was on Thursday and Friday.  By midday Friday, I was a bear to be around and actually was more harsh with a National Visa Center supervisor than I needed to be.  I lost it when she couldn't speak or understand English very well and I couldn't understand her very well and then she said that she didn't understand the urgency because if I didn't get to bring my child home now that I would eventually - definitely not something you say to a mother who lost one child before she could come to America and a mother who has been in the adoption process for over 3 years.  I forcefully told her that I was sick of this bureaucratic crap and that we were talking about my living, breathing, beautiful blessing from God who was an individual and not a new pair of shoes that I was merely adding to my wardrobe.  I know, bad thing to do - don't bite the hand that feeds you type of thing - but she didn't understand anything I said anyway and I did apologize for snapping at her.  I got my tongue in check, hung-up, and prayed.  This woman really ticked me off because she was a supervisor in the ADOPTION department and she obviously did not understand international adoption at all - at least not all the emotional aspects anyway.  She needs to be transferred to a new department but then no one asked me ;)

Well, let's see what next week brings!

Our Bumblebee - The Transformer

Ashton - aka Bumblebee

We don't really celebrate Halloween, and I certainly don't allow him to trick-or-treat at strangers' houses - just not safe, in my opinion.  So, Ashton gets a costume for school and for our church's Harvest Party and he's content.  Yesterday, our town had trick-or-treating downtown on the Square and when I went to get him, he prefered to stay at daycare, so I let him.  He had loads of fun at our church's Harvest Party, so that was the highlight of Halloween for him.

Today, he played his last game of soccer for this season.  This is his first year to play, and he loved it.  He really played hard and learned a lot.  He made 1 goal this season but he kicked it into the opposing team's goal so it was a point for them.  I aske why he kicked it in their goal and he said, "I felt sorry for them, Mom."  Yeah right but it was cute! 

We spent the rest of the day playing in the yard (well, Ashton did anyway) and working in the house.  I'm still trying to go through all of our baby stuff that we have had in storage since Ash was a baby - that is quite a chore!  We leave for ET very soon, so we are trying to finish things up this week so we aren't as rushed right before travel time.  Since we are leaving Ashton here with family members, we want to be able to spend extra time with him in the weeks before we travel because we know that as happy as he is about Maura Ruhama, his world will be forever changed upon her arrival....this will be good but we need to prepare him as he has never had to share us or his PaPa or BoBo (my sister) before. 

Mummies

When I'm stressed, I bake.  I don't generally like to eat what I bake because I get tired of the smell of cake and icing, but it is relaxing for me.  After this afternoon's chaos, it's a good thing I had to bake cupcakes for Ashton's preschool party tomorrow.

I bet the National Visa Center supervisors wish they could have mummified me today so they could shut me up!  Hehe, let's see what they think when our Congressman's office calls them first thing in the morning!

Please keep praying for a speedy resolution to our missing paperwork situation!

Paperwork Missing at US Embassy

I don't have a lot of time for this post but I need big time prayer!  We had our fingerprints updated back in August and our approval paperwork was sent from the US Dept. of Homeland Security to the National Visa Center and then on to US Embassy in Ethiopia.  The US Embassy denies ever receiving the paperwork and now our travel may be delayed!  I have spent the majority of this afternoon going through US bureaucratic red tape and let's just say that I'm beyond frustrated and outright angry.  No one wants to cooperate when all we need is for our approval to be e-mailed to Ethiopia one more time. 

Yes, Mr. US worker, I know that you sent it back in September, but SEND IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm supposed to call the National Visa Center tomorrow afternoon for an update so please pray that God moves mountains and the US Embassy receives and acknowledges our paperwork! 

Big Brother Shirt

Ashton's Big Brother Shirt

I found this website online that specializes in personalized adoption wear.  This is a picture of Ashton's t-shirt that he will wear to the airport to welcome Maura Ruhama home.  I think it turned-out so cute!

Double Blessing Today!

We received our tentative travel dates today!  We are scheduled to leave November 18!!!  We still can't book our tickets yet but according to our agency, they hope to confirm our travel dates by the end of this week.  Since our travel will fall the week of Thanksgiving, they are requesting that our travel group's paperwork be expedited which could mean that we will arrive home sooner than we expected....please pray about this! 

The second blessing came in the form of an e-mail from another adoptive mother, Karen Hutcheson, who will also be in our travel group.  They are leaving on the 18th from.....drum roll.........NASHVILLE!  This is awesome!  We are using the same travel agency, so our flight itineraries are IDENTICAL - how cool is that!  On top of that, the travel agency is trying to book our seats together!  We will travel each leg of this trip together!  Just this past weekend, Jason asked me if any other family would be leaving from Nashville and I said no because I didn't think about the Hutchesons flying-out from Nashville.  Jason and I have been praying that we would be able to share this trip with another family and once again, God answered our prayers! 

When we traveled to Ukraine in November 2007, we met a couple, the Daniels, in the Nashville airport and together we flew half-way across the world.  The Daniels are actually headed back to Ukraine on November 6th or 7th to complete their 2nd adoption, so pray for them too!

I am just so excited this afternoon!  I just looked towards Heaven and exclaimed, "Wow!"  Our God has been busy today answering my prayers!

The Big Question - When do you travel?

Q: When do we travel?

A: We don't know. Hopefully around Thanksgiving, but we are still waiting on concrete dates.

A couple of weeks ago, there were some changes in the paperwork processing for visas and as a result, it is highly likely that our travel will be delayed an additional 2 weeks on top of the wait we already expected - that puts travel about 4 weeks from court passage. Once court is over, the Ethiopian government must complete paperwork (i.e. new birth certficate) and then paperwork must be submitted to the U.S. Embassy for processing by the USA. We are praying that both governments will hurry, but alas, we know that Maura Ruhama will arrive home right on time - according to God's schedule, not ours. So, we continue to wait and pray.

She's Ours!!!!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

God has blessed our family abundantly! Please help us welcome Maura Ruhama Reed! Please leave a comment at the bottom of this post so she can know who helped pray her into our family.

Thank you for all your prayers! Please don't stop now as there will likely be another month before we can bring her home. She needs to remain healthy and God needs to light a fire under the U.S. State Dept. to process paperwork quickly!

Court Tonight!

While we are sleeping tonight, our adoption petition will be heard in Ethiopia. On Thursday morning, we will be waiting for a very important call telling us whether or not we have another child who bears our name – she already captivates our hearts and minds.

Our specific prayer requests:

• That the Ethiopian judge will review our paperwork carefully and approve our petition
• That our file will be complete and in order
• That all necessary witnesses will arrive on time and provide credible testimony
• That half-way across the world, our child’s family will have ultimate peace that their daughter is loved and will be cared for the remainder of her life
• For Baby Girl’s adjustment as her life will forever change upon approval of our petition

 We are praying for wonderful news on Thursday! Upon a favorable determination, we'll post our video entitled “Journey of Faith” that introduces our latest blessing!

"God makes everything happen at the right time.  Yet none of us can ever fully understand all He has done."  Eccl. 3:11

Ethiopian Haircare

Can be purchased at Walgreens.

On sale through Oct. 31, 2009!  Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off!

One item of concern when adopting outside of one's race is haircare.  At least this is a concern for me.  I want my baby's hair to look pretty, smell good, and most of all, be healthy.  A fellow Ethiopian adoptive mother told me about thie BioInfusion Olive Oil products that can be purchased at Walgreens.  They smell really good and most of all, she says that they work great.  I'm starting to nest, so last week I had to go buy haircare products - this was the one area that I haven't purchased anything in (other than lots of bows and headbands).  I was so excited to find it on sale and wanted to share this find with you!

If anyone else has any products that they just love or tidbits of advice, please share!  I'm all ears!

All In A Name

When someone discovers you are adopting or pregnant, one of the first questions is, "What is her name?"  For us, when we tell them "Maura", they usually ask what we are calling her...to which I reply, "Maura."  Then they say, "Well, what is her American name?"  I say, "Maura" followed by XXXX is her Ethiopian name, so we will use that as her middle name.  Usually, they look puzzled but don't ask any more questions.

Personally, I don't think "Maura" is that uncommon but apparently some people do.  Ashton, our now 5 year old son, actually picked-out the name.  Jason wasn't too sure about it, but now he loves it and this is why:  We wanted a name that meant something special.  We discovered that "Maura" means both bitterness and gift of God.  These are both perfect for our family.  You see, when Julianna Ashure died, we had a choice - we could be bitter or we could relinquish our doubts, pain, and fear to God.  When we first learned that our family had been matched with a child so soon after Ashure's death when we first saw her photo we didn't know how we were going to feel, but we knew it was going to be one of two emotions - bitterness or happiness.  When we received Ashure's referral, we were so elated but after her death, our hearts were literally broken into pieces and frankly, we experienced pain like we had never felt.  Many people didn't understand (and rudely stated their opinions) how we could hurt when we never held her in our arms.  We loved Julianna Ashure before she was ever conceived and our hearts hurt just the same as a mother who gave birth and then lost her child.  With Maura's referral, we knew she was severely malnourished and most of all, we knew how fragile life is...we were scared and our faith was wavering. 

We opened the e-mail and this is what we saw:

Our hearts melted immediately.  There was absolutely no bitterness but sorrow mixed with joy.  We knew that God was blessing us doubly.  Instead of bitterness, our hearts were filled with thanksgiving.  We knew that this baby was a gift from God.  Her Ethiopian name means "gift of mercy"...how perfect is that!?!  All around, we knew that this child came into our family at the perfect time.  We will never fully understand why Julianna Ashure died but we do know that God used her little life to touch the lives of others (as well as our own) around the world.  What a testimony she has even in death!  Now, the world is watching and cheering as we bring Maura home.  Our God is so good and even more so, is always faithful.  Maura is a gift and whenever we look at her, we will always remember her sister and our God who is holding her now.

We have a rescheduled court date!

Earlier this afternoon, we received an e-mail that we should expect to receive notice of our rescheduled court date within the next 3-4 weeks.  I was bummed to say the least.  I called my family and asked that they all turn-up the prayers so that we would hear something SOON!

After I got back from Ashton's preschool birthday party, I checked my messages and we had a new e-mail from AWAA.  We have a court date scheduled for Oct. 22!  We are so thankful!  God is SO GOOD!  Please keep us in your prayers so that we can have our baby home by Thanksgiving!

Oh, and when I was pregnant with Ashton back in 2004, Oct. 22 was my due date.  It would be so neat if Baby Girl officially became our daughter on that day!  Watch closely for her intro video next Thursday.  You don't want to miss out on seeing her precious smiles!

Happy 5th Birthday, Ashton!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHTON!

Over the weekend we had a small party for Ashton, and he had a blast playing with his cousins!  The kids loved the castle bouncy and gobbled-up cake and ice cream. 

This morning, he woke-up at 5:15 and was ready for a great day!  He feel back to sleep on the couch with "George" and when I woke him back up at 7:30, he was groggy but ready to go to preschool for his birthday party with his classmates.  This evening, his Aunt BoBo came over and they played boardgames.  One of his new games is "Captain Joe's Jet Plane" - it is basically an updated "Operation" from years gone by.  Ashton turns the buzzer off because he says, "This game likes to be the boss of me!"  We had to laugh.  I can't believe my baby is 5 years old!

September Update!

I can't wait to share the latest pics we received of Baby Girl!  She is smiling so big and is getting so big!

Here's what we learned about her:

• She has gained 2 lbs
• She has grown 2.4 inches
• She has started babbling
• She likes to hold hands and play with the babies next to her
• She is easygoing, social, and interactive
• Her chicken pox is clearing-up and she did have diaper rash once this past month
• She doesn't mind diaper changes but cries at the start of her bath
• She sleeps well at night and doesn't sleep long during the day.
• She goes to sleep on her own.

Now, about court, we still don't have a court date yet.  We received an e-mail moments ago that the courts did not reopen today as they had stated.  Our agency did receive confirmation that they are in fact going to be back at work tomorrow.  Tomorrow is Ashton's 5th birthday, so maybe it will be a great day of celebration both of his birth and of learning of a new court date!  The best day would be if the courts decided to review the file tomorrow and grant the adoption - guess you know what I'm praying for!

Where, oh where, is September's Update?

I got up this morning excited - well minus the sinus infection funk.  Today we are supposed to receive September's update on Baby Girl!  Each month we are allowed to submit 5 questions about her and the in-country staff who are caring for her provide us answers.  We are also told her most current weight, length, and  physicial development status.  I am SO EXCITED!  It seems like a long time since I have seen any new photos of my baby!  Just about every day I play a video on my computer that the Monbergs sent me of her back in September - she smiles so big when Melodie calls her name!  Now, I must work and quit hitting "Check Mail" on my e-mail account!

Julianna Ashure's Memorial Garden

Julianna Ashure's Memorial Garden

Over Labor Day Weekend, we worked on a memorial garden for Julianna Ashure.  We've been wanting to do something special in her memory but just couldn't decide exactly what.  We decided on this flowerbed that is located in the children's fenced-in playground.   We thought that if she were still alive, she would definitely get hours of pleasure out of this area, so that's where we wanted her garden to be. 

Jason found the beautiful ceramic cross at Lowes and immediately knew it was just what we had been looking for.  Jason dug-up each rock off our property and laid the fence by hand.  He did a wonderful job!  We planted vibrant "Knock-Out Roses."

I've been looking for a perfect gift for Julianna Ashure's nanny at the Transitional Home in Ethiopia, and I finally found something that caught my eye.  I purchased a silver "dog tag" that has her picture engraved on the front and under the picture it says, "Heaven's Little Angel."  On the back it states, "Thank you for loving me.  I'm waiting for you in Heaven.  Love Always, Ashure Reed"  I hope the nanny likes it!

Please Pray for Our Son

Yesterday evening, while I was at a wedding, Ashton starting make some rather alarming comments about his baby sister, Maura.  He is afraid that God is never going to bring her home to America.  He said that he was afraid God was going to take her to Heaven like He did his grandmother, sister, and his favorite rooster - all in the spance of a year.  This conversation began again on our way home from church moments ago.  He asked how I knew that God wouldn't take Maura to Heaven and all I could say was that God was taking care of Maura and that we had to be patient. 

I wish so badly that I could guarantee Maura's arrival in America but frankly, the thought that she may get really sick like Julianna is never far from my mind.  I pray everyday for my children and for peace during our wait - some days are better than others.  Over the last weeks, Ashton has gone from longing for a sister to wanting to sell Maura because he didn't want to have to share his toys or his PaPa to being adamant that no one other than us will hold her to now being concerned that she will never come home - Ashton needs our prayers for comfort and peace.  He has endured so much loss and disappointment over the last year and he's only 4 (well, he'll be 5 in about 2 weeks).  Please pray that God will speak to his heart and provide him with comfort that one day soon, he will have a baby sister to love on!

UPDATE (Monday, Oct. 5)

We haven't told Ashton that our court date got bumped.  Actually, we haven't told him much of anything but apparently he is sensing that something has happened.  Truly, after 3 years of waiting, some days I am so weary and apparently he feels the same way.  Last night and today have been better and he's not mentioned Maura except to say, "She's soooo cute!"  We have really tried to guard how much we tell him but he seems to have this weird sixth sense about our adoption.  He doesn't have a good sense of dates, so he doesn't have a clue that we had planned to travel in 2 weeks, so hopefully if our travel dates do indeed get bumped then he won't realize it.  Anyway, we totally appreciate the continued prayers and support!   

Court Opening Delayed

Well, yesterday a rumor was posted on our agency's Yahoo chatboard stating that the courts have decided to postpone opening. Remember they closed at the end of August for the rainy season? Our court date was supposed to be next Wednesday but now we don't know when it will be. My heart is broken as Baby Girl is growing up without us.

After I saw the post on the chatboard yesterday, I e-mailed our agency and didn't hear a peep back until the following e-mail this evening. As the day wore-on and I still didn't hear anything, in my heart I knew that the rumor was probably true.

Dear Jason and Erica,

I know you are anxiously awaiting news on court after the long weeks of the closure. The court confirmed today that they will not be reopening until Oct. 12th. They informed us that they will be rescheduling all court dates between Oct 7th and 12th once they reopen.

I know this time of waiting can be so hard as you long to be united with your child. I am sorry that your court date will be rescheduled and that we will have to wait one more week for any more news. I am hopeful that your rescheduled appointment will be sometime in October but we will not receive any confirmation of dates from the court until they begin work again.

We will continue to pray for your family and will contact you as soon as we have any new information.

Personally, I'm still praying for a miracle. Maybe I'm just wasting my breath because that isn't God's will, but I need practice praying and God doesn't mind listening.  My heart's desire is that we will get an unexpected call stating that the Judge decided to review our case and we've passed. We'll see what plans God unfolds in the days to come!