not today:(

Well, last night we stayed in a hotel here in town, had a blast with the kids, friends and family..and of course  hoping for a positive phone call today about court....you see, while we were sleeping last night, court was happening in ET....so therefore, i did not sleep well, at all!! Anyhow, The MOWA(ministry of womens affairs) letter was not there...which means we didn't pass,but birth family was there...so that is one less factor for our next try..So, dissapointed we were,but also felt horrible sadness, as i knew our sons birthfather was there,and officially relinquished his rights..and that makes me so,so sad. I can not imagine how that would have been.But forever thankful, that we are called to be his family...and honored we all are:) So, we are praying that the MOWA letter miraculously arrives wherever it is necessary,and we get a call saying.."you passed." Otherwise, we are rescheduled for April 14th....2 wks. has never seemed so far off in the distance...It's hard to even put into words how badly i want to meet, hug, kiss, hold, nurture our boys...And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere...kate says, " mom, it will happen soon." And really, in the scheme of things, it will....and in 3 months from now, we'll be sitting here wondering how it all went so fast!! Ultimately, we know that first and foremost, our children belong to God, and we are so lucky and blessed to be their parents here on earth...so, he knows what is best, when the right time is, and all of these what if's and why's that go through my head.....so, with that, I feel peace...now, all I want is to have our boys home and be together, a family of 6!!!   Here's to a better nite sleep:) xo kristen

1 day till court

Wow, we received our court date last week and we told ourselves that if we go along with our days that March 31st will be here shortly.  It didn't work, I find myself thinking about our boys a lot and the 31st seems to be dangling out there forever.  Finally, its only 1 more day until the phone call alert begins.  We were praying for our friends who had court today and really hoping that they would pass on first try, and they found out they will have to wait a couple of weeks.  Instantly the anxiety started to set in, thinking about our court date and all the different outcomes.  We decided to rent a hotel room tomorrow with a fun slide in the pool area so that we could relax a bit and enjoy the kids.  Then we can wake up on the 31st, go swimming and wait for the phone call.  Any prayers you want to throw in for us would help. 

pics for our boys!!!

Once we pass court we are able to send the boys 2 special items...one was the id bracelets we made for them,and we obviously wanted to send them photos of us(and them with us!!)So, Kasey and I spent much of yesterday printing photos out,laminating,buying scrapbook paper for the back of the photos,and going to Bead Chicks(a bead store,here in town) to assemble our photo lanyards..what do you think?? We chose cute,boyish paper for the backs,laminated 10 photos each for both of the boys,and added a special note to each of them,which is also laminated! Wonder what they'll think when they see the photo of them in our pic(yep,we had photos taken of us,holding their 8x10 photos...)???And,better yet,they both have the same photos...so maybe they will put it together that they are coming home to the same family!!!  I sure wish I could be a little bird in the room when they receive them!! We love you "A" and "T",and we will be there soon!! 6 more days till court...just think, in 1 wk,I will hopefully be the momma of 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xo kristen

Court Date!!!!

We received "the call" we've been waiting for today!! I got a text this morning,that our friends had just received their court date..march 29th..and so happy for them and their family..and so I waited,and waited..and waited..and no call. So about 2:30,I stopped down at Kaseys work to say hi,and he opened his e-mail to such a beautiful sight...a wonderful woman that had recently been in ET,had taken video of "A", He is being spoken to ,being told to say hi!,which i think is "selam"?? Anyhow, he goes on to say "selam,mommy"....oh, how sweet is that,i could just cry..he must know he has a mommy..I pray for his little heart.."I'm coming sweet boy,it is true,you and "T"have a mommy,daddy,brother and sister that love you soooo much, not too much longer, and we'll be there to pick you both up...get ready for hugs and kisses galore!!" But until that day comes, I know they are both being taken care of very well, and It looks like they are both so loved there..that does a mommy's heart good!! So, anyways, After seeing that very cute video, I got in my car, and went to pick up the kids...then Kasey called me and said,"How does March 31st,sound?" What?? I wanted "the call",and better yet he received the call at 10:00 this a.m,and didn't listen to his voicemail until 3:00,so therefore i worried,and wondered all day for nothing...well, not for nothing..But a wonderful COURT DATE!! So,as you can tell, Our house is full of excitement,and a whole lotta "a" and "t" video watching!!!! Happy monday to you all,and praying for a successful court date,for us and the other families that have them this week,and next...And those to come!! Thanks Aneata and Jocelyn for the wonderful news,and video...We adore it all!! xo kristen

Oh Happy Day:)

You know, why is it that on school days, I have to wake the kids up from their slumber..and on weekends they are up at 6!! I'm not totally complaining,since I'm a morning person myself,but it's just kinda funny,that it usually works that way!!Anyhow, glad I was up,because at 6:11 we got an e-mail from our case worker..no court date YET,but two very precious videos of the boys!! They are only about 20 sec. each,but love,love them!! Nothing like starting our morning off right!! Then, I attended a womens event/brunch at our church,which was amazing...fellowship with other women,brunch,worship,and a great speaker. We each received a little kite,which helped remind me that spring is on it's way....or,actually here..today!! So, Happy Spring!!She (our speaker) reminded us that god is here with us, look at the grass waving in the wind,the wind blowing,birds chirping..we don't always need to look up to find him. He IS right HERE!! Then, when we got home,I thought I'd get the mail,and wouldn't you know..there it was..our I-171 H!!
This is the last approval that we needed,required to bring our boys home!! So, now we are praying for a speedy court date!! Getting Closer to our boys,and to a family of 6!!! Have a fun Saturday..xo kristen

A princess and her frog...

any news??

You know it's bad when:
#1: I check my e-mail like 50 times a day(seriously!) waiting for updates!
#2: while checking my e-mail, I refresh the page just in case there is an email that just hasn't shown yet...aaahhh...I feel nuts!
#3: I call our wonderful case worker,simply to hear her voice,in hopes that she will have some great news!!(even when there is no news to be had, I sincerely enjoy talking to her!)
#4: I'm at a friends house,and ask to check my e-mail!!!(aaah...pathetic,huh??)
     So, there it is, yes,I am feeling quite impatient,and I do know that the timing will be perfect,and honestly I am just so crazy excited to get them home, that I can hardly stand it!! Anyhow, While waiting for our boys, I have our two awesome kids here with us,and for that I am blessed. We have been enjoying this weekend,the kids have spring break,so that means 4 days OFF!! LOVE having them home with me!! Today we spent the morning with friends at Creative Clay,and painted away!! Grant had his kidney checkup on Wed. and well, not what we were hoping to hear..he has to go back in 3 months for another scan...his kidney is still not wanting to drain...so, if you could keep him(and his kidney,he says!)in your prayers,we would love that!! Kate has lost her 2nd tooth,and wow...she now hopes the tooth fairy will bring her a new skirt!! I told her the tooth fairy is much too small to carry a skirt with her!! wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!!  Hoping for warmer weather,and of course,a COURT DATE!!   xo Kristen

Thinking about our boys..

We have been receiving a lot of updated photos lately which is such a blessing but painful.  Usually it feels like, "o.k. this will hold us over for awhile" but I have been feeling so anxious lately.  We have seen these little faces since Jan. 14th and our hearts have been captured by them just like it was when we saw Grant and Kate for the first time.  I wish they knew how much they are loved already and that they have a family that is praying for them every night and counting the days till we bring them home.  I know that I am in love with these boys when I can watch the guy on Bizarre Foods from the Travel Channel go to Ethiopia and think that I will eat that if I have too, just to get them.  Ok, maybe not the raw camel kidney (probably skip that meal).

Sending a prayer tonight to our boys that they might know that they are wanted and loved.  We love you!!

opinions,advice, suggestions??????

OK, so here goes....So, you all know about the big change that ET is introducing as of this last week...well, now, not quite sure when it goes into effect,and if WE will be affected at all!!! But it's definitely got this mind of mine thinking,hoping,pondering......well, i guess I never even thought about the fact that once the boys pass court that they are ours...yep,by ET regulations they would be officially OURS!! So, even if we DON'T have to be present for court,why not go a few weeks before our embassy date,and get the boys then??? I mean,why wouldn't I??? So, I'm thinking we(grant &kate&myself)would travel over,stay at a guest house ,pick up our boys and bond,play,spend time together,and just have a great time enjoying ET a bit longer than we originally planned??? Then, once it is time to come home,have Kasey fly over,and pick all 5 of us up...yep, I must admit, I think I'd need a bit of help with all 4 kiddos traveling home,don't ya think?? So, back to the point...Have any of you traveled to a 3rd world country with your children in tow?? They are almost 6,and almost 8 years of age. Does this idea sound crazy?? I would really appreciate any and all good/bad experiences you have had with taking your children along.... the idea of having the boys there after passing court and not being able to be with them drives me bonkers, and the thought of leaving Grant and Kate that long,drives me bonkers,also...what's a mom to do???  Thanks in advance for your opinions/suggestions...good or bad!!!! xo Kristen    oh, and today we got the boys' bedroom somewhat in order...yay!!!!

Ready or not...here we come...

WHAT??? Ok, so not yet 100% sure on this,but today we got an e-mail announcing that the ET govt. is changing one of the regulations/rules....They have decided that families adopting from ET are now required to travel twice before returning back here,with their children. The first time Kasey and I would both be required to go,which I believe would be around their court date..And yes,friends,our court date could be right around the corner....eeeekkk!!So, with that being said,we could potentially be going to ET in 3 or so weeks..no, we don't have a court date..yet!! Just my own speculation/guessing!! Anyhow, we are hoping that since we received/accepted a referral more than a month ago that we will be grandfathered in!!hmmm.i guess we'll just wait and see. So, all of this just makes my head spin...on one hand, it thrills me to think that I could possibly be meeting our sons so soon!!!And on the other hand, how could i ever leave them in ET,after having met them..yes, that would mean,we would meet them,spend a week or so with them,and have to take them back to the orphanage, and return 6-8 wks. later??NO WAY!! Also, there is absolutely NO WAY, I am able to spend the 6-8 wks in ET,without Grant and Kate...so to Ethiopia they would be going. I'm probably thinking way too much,chill out Kristen!! Anyways, gotta prepare for the worst and least desirable,right??  So tonight Please Pray for our family and so many others that this is affecting...WHY is this going in to effect,you ask?? Well, there have been a dramatic increase of revocation cases in which the adoptive parents decline to bring their children home after having passed court.........NO WAY...how in the world could one do this?? Must let my mind rest,Really,I'm fine..just needed to get it off my shoulders....and on to GOD's... xo Kristen

gotta love an update!!

Today we received a fun little update on "the boys!" Right now, within our agency there are a few families that are in ET. They have been so sweet in getting info on our boys and all of the other kiddos as well!! So you wanna hear a bit about them??? This is from one of the moms..."A": What a doll.I loved this little guy.He just muddled about and had a great time with the stickers:)Loved to play outside with sticks!No toys Needed:)Well, our house definitely has enough toys,but I guess I gotta work on the stick part!! Ok, now onto "Mr. T":So adorable,I could eat him up!The type of boy that I just wanted to squeeze!!He ate bananas and cookies the day my mom and I went,and I have a picture of him with it all over his face!!! He definitely makes himself known!! Well, it sure sounds as though he loves hugs and attention...he won't lack that around here!!  So thanks to you(you know who you are!!) for sending us these sweet thoughts on our boys..We love it!! Anyhow, there is actually another mom there that has been able to get their weights/heights/shoe sizes..etc..so that will be helpful in our preparing for them!! Thinking about all of the families this week that have court dates!! Praying for all of you!! Can't wait till it's our turn!!! Grant and Kate sure enjoy hearing about their brothers...they want to hear about them over and over!!! I can hardly wait till Grant and Kate meet them face to face, how precious will that be!!! AAAAAhhhhh....court date come...we want our boys home...all together as a family of 6!!! Maybe tomorrow will be our lucky day!!!  Time to tuck the kiddos in...
xo kristen

this and that....

Ok, I've just finished reading today's post at www.babeofmyheart.com and you definitely all need to check it out!! What an amazing thing these women and families are doing!! I want to do more!! Do you feel led to sponsor a child?? I mean, look at those faces...Such a wonderful organization,that I myself am still learning about..All along, I have felt that once our boys are home, I too, would like to help in some way, whether it be sponsoring a child or two, helping out in an organization such as wiphan, or just speaking about my love for children, and encouraging others to pray about the ways that God might use them....are the children of Ethiopia,China,United States tugging at your heart??? Do you have an extra $37.00/month that could be used to sponsor a child?? This week my prayer for each one of you,would be that you keep your heart and arms wide open, you never know how God will fill you up??? On to our weekend events... Saturday the kids and I did an Easter craft..oh, how they love messing, but I have to say, they both did a wonderful job, and have now been enjoying giving them to friends and family(pics to come!!). 6:30 never comes soon enough, thats the time when Kasey is ours for the rest of the weekend...oh, how we love having him home with us!! Sunday was a day full of do whatever we want,whenver we want..so we were able to hang out with my brother and his family,eat a little texas roadhouse..mmm, went to Old Navy,Shopped for all four of the kids...gosh, I like the sound of that!! And had our pics taken with the boys pics!! Yep, we had our picture taken holding our 8x10 photos of the boys,so when they receive those, we hope they will know they have been a part of our family for a long time already!! the kids were so excited about doing that..you should see their faces!! And now onto the week ahead...ughhhh.. did I mention I could really use the sun!! Wishing you all a great week!!   xo Kristen

happenings:)

A few thoughts... Adopted For Life,by Russell D. Moore is a great read!! I won a Ugandan Bead Necklace from a really great blog I follow...check it out..www.teamalexander.blogspot.com...such an inspiring family!! We are still waiting to hear about a court date..aaahhh..i'm getting a bit impatient!! In a previous post i had mentioned we'd be able to send the boys a special gift, and ,well, we have them...we made all four of our kids cute little i.d. bracelets!! Along with those we'll be sending them photos of our family, oh,how I hope these items get to them!! Some of our other friends who have been waiting on a referral got "the call" today!!So excited for this family...They have patiently waited for this day!! Oh, and another amazing blog i've been following,has great crafty ideas for kiddos,one of which i will attempt this weekend...check them out too!! http://www.babeofmyheart.com/!! She was also just awarded for being one of the top 100 Christian Women's blogs!!Congrats Andrea!!

So, there you have it..those are the bracelets we made!! What do ya think??? Think the boys will like receiving one of those??(obviously with their names,but can't show you those!!) I hope it makes them feel so special,and a sense of belonging to a family!!

Here's that excellent book,that you should all check out!!
Wishing you all a fabulous Friday!! Praying for a court date!!
   love and be loved  kristen

green eggs and ham..........

As I sit here in a quiet place, i am given much time to think,process my thoughts,read(which i rarely do!!)and have a few minutes or hours to myself,which doesn't happen too often...yep, i have to admit,i'm a bit bored! You see, i'd much rather be with my kids,talking about their school adventures,their friends,school lunch, and so much more. Yesterday i had the pleasure of taking Grant and his class on a field trip to Sylvan Learning Center...for Dr. Seuss' Birthday!!! 106 years of age!! A fun time was had,cookies,milk,and a little Green eggs and Ham!! Ok, not the real thing,but a story or 2! But if you haven't had the real thing,you must try!! Our kids love them!! Heres a quick recipe: 

6 egg whites, 3 eggs(yolk and all), milk(just a bit)Mix those together. Put aside. In a med. saucepan, add about 3 Tb. butter,heat until melted,now add 3-4 cups washed and ready spinach, the spinach should wilt, and once wilted add 2 TB. milk,once that evaporates,transfer spinach mixture to a food processor,or blender(you might have to add a couple more tsp. of milk.) puree,then add spinach puree to eggs, and desired amount of shredded or diced ham, and cook on med. heat in saucepan...and that's it.....enjoy!! Hmmm....i wonder what Will and Gabe will think of green eggs and ham??? Oops,got totally side tracked when i thought about that fieldtrip , i guess i'll write more on my quiet time(thoughts,etc) later!!   xo kristen

Read and Enjoy..

So many thoughts go through my mind as I read this blog. Working with the youth in our community I see this feeling of entitlement and it is so frustrating to watch it be nurtured by parents. It doesn't just apply to children, the best lesson my wife and I have learned through the tough times is to be content with what we have. I encourage you to take the time to read this blog. It is worth the 5 minutes.


Click link below:
I-don't-want-my-children-to-be-happy .com