Food

Our family knows that we really ought to be getting used to more kinds of Ethiopian foods, but quite honestly, we are procrastinators and we still haven't really tried anything.

Mom has bought mangos two or three times, but noone ever tries it! The mango usually gets rotten and then we throw it out.

Some months ago, Mom bought some frozen mangos in a bag. She then would eat them for lunch once in a while. But I don't think frozen mangos have the same taste as fresh. And I don't believe even fresh mangos in the U.S., taste the same as the ones Belly Boy eats in Ethiopia.

When my friend, Rachel, came back from Uganda she talked about how amazing the bananas were especially compared to the U.S.A.'s. Which now makes me wonder if when Belly Boy comes home, if he will refuse to eat our mangos because they don't taste like the amazing ones back in Ethiopia.

Fortunately we've found in Belly Boy's social report, that he likes about the same food as Sports Dude and hates some of the same food Sports Dude hates. So hopefully, as long as our food tastes kinda the same as Belly Boy's used to, we can still have some of the same kind of food we have quite often.

We're Getting Ready

So, though we didn't pass court and it's not looking like we'll be leaving anytime soon, we're still getting ready for Belly Boy's arrival. Since it will be difficult to get very many big projects done while he is first here, we are trying to get them all done now so that we won't have to worry about getting anything done.

Dad and Mom have made a list of the things we need to get done. Right now they have things like painting rooms and decorating, spring cleaning the house, sorting out baby clothes, making meals to freeze, and getting any big schoolwork projects done with. Hopefully getting this all done now, will make thngs easier later.

Dad and Mom have sorted the toys in the basement and playroom, so it looks really nice in there right now. Now if only the kids will KEEP it clean!

Christmas without our Belly Boy

We had a fun Christmas Eve, (our Christmas Day), then another fun one yesterday with our grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. It was weird though, because we knew we were missing a family member, yet we had never met him, so it was hard to picture what it would be like WITH him. (Does this even make sense)?

We received a package a few days ago, which was the airplane riding toy that we bought for Belly Boy for when he comes home. So that was his Christmas gift. Now it's sitting in the foyer by our Christmas tree waiting for him to play with it. (It's actually a really cool toy with a foam, moving propeller and all sorts of fun buttons)!

One of my grandmas even had a stocking all ready for Belly Boy when we got there. It was really fun finding baby books, baby powder, wipes, and all sorts of baby items and knowing who they were for.

So now we can't wait to celebrate Christmas WITH him next year! It's going to be a blast! (I love it when babies open gifts)!

We received a letter from immigration today

The letter was an approval of our homestudy with several updates such as that we were willing to adopt a baby over the age we had said before. Now we should be set for court in a few weeks.

Besides this, Merry Christmas!! I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow!

"And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This census took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the ciy of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his bethrothed wife, who was with child.
So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Luke 2:1-7

Later this baby would grow up, be tortured, and would end up dying on a cross for you and for me. And would you believe that this baby named Jesus was God's only son? His only, perfect son. So Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice with our sins on his shoulders. Now because of this, we can have a relationship with God which was something the people in the days before Jesus couldn't have.

We celebrate Christmas to remember how God gave up His son for us. And how Jesus was born into this sinful world. Remember this as you celebrate Christmas tomorrow!

Why our Case is Pending

The reason is that a letter from a government agency was not ready for court. They didn't get it done in time so the judge was not able to look at our case two days ago. The next opening for court was January 13th so it was rescheduled for this day. Unfortunately that is about three weeks away.

How will this affect our traveling? Well, since we didn't pass court, our wait to travel after court,(8-16 weeks), did not begin. If we pass in January, then we might leave at the earliest in late February or March. Which was definitely not what we had been hoping.

Merry Christmas, Everyone! Have a Wonderful Day!
Emily

Update, Bad News

We just received bad news that our case is pending. That means no court today. And we have to wait until January 13th for our next court date.

We are sorry today's court date didn't work out, but know that God is taking care of it all and everything will go according to His plan which is ALWAYS best.

Thank you for your prayers.

Court Day!

Please be praying as the judge is given our case today in Ethiopia!! We will find out tomorrow whether we passed court. From there, we make plans for traveling!

Merry Christmas!
Emily

News!

Not only is it three days until court day, but yesterday we received a report on Belly Boy called his social report. In it were more recent photos, (Oh, the difference! And he is so cute and handsome!). The nannies also helped write a report telling us his likes, dislikes, his favorite things to eat and do, and that he is really outgoing!

He likes pasta like Sports Dude and hates rice. He sounds so adorable!!! We can't wait to bring him home.

In the pictures, there were about three pictures all with him on a riding airplane toy. My parents immediately got on the computer, and found and bought the toy so that he will have a familiar toy when he comes home. We were also excited when we recognized several of our own toys in a video of the care center where he is at.

So we were all thrilled to get the update and to see more recent photos of him. I love his hair!! It's so soft and bushy!!

Our Package for Belly Boy

Our social worker told us that we could send a package to Belly Boy. We send it to a social worker who will send it with a family who is leaving to get their child. We just sent our package two days ago. (Sorry to those of you whom I told otherwise, I was really confused. Surprised? :)  I am sharing pictures of the stuff we are sending him. These picutures were taken just for this blog!!

Here it all is spread out...

This is a squishy photo, baby book that Belly Boy can look at, chew on, and drool on. It has pictures of all of us, (including him),  individually and a pic. of our dog as we hear Ethiopian babies are sometimes scared of pets, and one of our house. We put labels in English underneath the pictures so the nannies can tell Belly Boy who everyone is, (if they are able to read it).

A toy car for him to play with. The sad part is that we understand that the care center tries to work on sharing with everyone so Belly Boy may not end up playing with it very much. Other kids will play with it too. It may even get lost they said.

A blankie. Soft, big, and hopefully he will love it.

We had to pack it all up in a ziploc bag. One thing not shown is a laminated picture of our family for Belly Boy to look at, (and drool on).

We planned on sending this extremely soft, small, (about washcloth size), blankie for Belly Boy to cuddle with, but when we learned about things being lost easily, we decided to take it with us when we travel instead of sending it now.

Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday Link, (Click here)

Here is that orphan Sunday video I was talking about in one of my older posts. Please take time to watch it! I can guarantee you it will be worth it.

At about the the 40 minute mark, some children who make up the Children of the World International Children's Choir sing for about 10 minutes or more. Not only are they adorable, but they have some great,  ethusiastic songs. This was the hit of the entire video to me.

Enjoy!
Em

Newest Update- Court Date

We have a court date!!!!! December 21st is our court date! What does this mean? It means that people in Ethiopia will bring our case of adopting Belly Boy to an Ethiopian judge who will decide whether we may adopt him. Sometimes families don't pass the first time, but we are praying that we do, so that we may leave as early as February to get Belly Boy, (the adoption agency says 8-16 weeks after passing court, the family will travel)!

Very exciting! And it'll be an awesome Christmas present if we pass!

So that's the update o'er here.

(This doesn't mean we will be traveling Dec. 21st. This is just a court date, but definitely a huge step if we pass)!