Brodie's End of Preschool Program and last day at the park



I know I share a lot of videos on here but I just have to share this one. I stole it from another AGCI adoptive family that is actually in the video. It actually gave me goosebumps!

Where we are.

Well, alot of people are asking where we are in our adoption process. When I start to explain and then explain what needs to happen next I start to see a glazed look come over their eyes. I'm sure they think we're crazy to be so excited about the step we just made thinking "Man they have a loooong ways to go!" but honestly it's really not that far. I don't bore them with all the steps we had to take to actually get to where we are at this point but if they only knew they would be shouting and yelling, as well. So here it goes the run down put simply of where we are......

Recieve notarized copies of homestudy
Send in to USCIS for fingerprinting appt. then when completed receive FDL letter
Once we receive this letter we can formally send in our Dossier
When Dossier is approved and we send in our next monetary installment we officially go on the "waiting list"
Once on the "waiting list" it's completely out of our hands and we waaiiiitttttt (One may ask how long this wait is. Well, average right now is 10-12 months but God can do anything so we have no idea)

Sometimes when people ask I really wish they would follow our blog but I really can't say "Well, we document all of this, just follow our blog." For those that do follow our blog here it is and yes I will still love to talk to you in person about it all. :) Sometimes it's just easier to see it laid out then try to follow someone trying to explain it all in person.

Just last night Joel and I watched a movie called "Black Gold". It's about the coffee industry in Ethiopia and what is happening to the coffee farmer there. It was very interesting and honestly quite sobering to hear all that is happening to these poor families that are working so hard.
I believe you can even watch it online (we got ours thru Netflix). It's an awesome look into Ethiopia and it's people, too so we were very interested in it. I tell you what it really makes you think about what coffee you drink.
http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/story.php


The Story:
Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.
Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.
Against the backdrop of Tadesse's journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world's coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.

Praise the Lord!

Well, God is so good......Vanya has a family!!! Awesome Awesome Awesome. 

A bit about what's going on with our adoption- We are moving forward still. We may be moving at a snails pace to some but I can see the big picture and it's like moving mountains to me. Today, Good Friday, Joel has off and wonderfully the offices that we need to be open are so we got some of our dossier paperwork notarized, got one county certified, and will be getting our passport apps in to the post office. It feels so nice to check things off the list and know that those things are taken care of. Now we continue to pray that these documents don't have to be redone because of errors and that everything will go through smoothly.

Praises God for His wonderful gift of His Son on this Easter weekend! I can't imagine not having that sacrifice for my sins so that I can be forgiven over and over again. Thank you Jesus!

Vanya update!

Vanya's situation is very urgent. I don't know all the details but he needs a family and he needs one like now! Please be in prayer that everything can go smoothly for whoever God is calling to bring this cute little boy home. To read more link back to No Greater Joy Mom from below.

An awesome way to help!

I follow a blog called No Greater Joy Mom. Right now she is celebrating bringing her two precious angels home one year ago. To make things even better she is reaching out to help one precious and very cute I might add little boy in the Ukraine. His mother led an immoral lifestyle and could no longer care for him properly so he was removed from her care. His father did not want anything to do with him so he was placed in an orphanage. Vanya is eight years old and is HIV+. The workers there state that everyday he asks if someone is coming for him. Oh, what breaks my heart. Can you imagine him sitting there day after day just waiting to be loved? Well, to give a family some hope and help in adopting him she is raising money through an awesome huge giveaway. Please visit her site to read more about Vanya and prayerfully consider helping in whatever way you feel led.   http://nogreaterjoymom.blogspot.com/

Moving Forward!

It's hard to believe that I'm saying this but we are done with our homestudy! Yee Haw! I am so excited and pumped! Now we wait for our social worker to write up our report and send to the Oregon office to be approved. After this we can apply at USCIS and continue to work on our Dossier. Joel and I were talking the other day and strangely enough we agree that we are just in awe of God continuing us on this journey. I know that sounds really weird to some but through each step we are blessed and amazed at His love for us. We know that there is a little baby girl that God has just in mind to join our family. When I typed that my heart leaped....amazing!!!!! I absolutely can not WAIT to see her picture, to hear all about her, and to then finally meet her and put my arms around her. Hold on precious girl we are coming (even if you aren't even born yet, God knows all about you already).

 My lovies...so cute all together.

 Crazy goofballs!

 Gavin's Vday box.

 For our homestudy we had to go to an Ethiopian restaurant in MI so we made it a little getaway.

 Another requirement: Me making an Ethiopian meal...Dora Wat & Injera (aka Chicken Stew & bread)

 Claire's new trick!



Gavin Playing Bball. He absolutely loved it!