We made it!

Hello from Ethiopia! We arrived here Thursday morning after a long flight with a rambunctious 5 year old sitting behin us. Let's just say it was not a restful flight! We put our stuff at the hotel where we are staying and started our first task of getting our phone in working order. After that, we headed to go get sweet Jude! We enjoyed our time at the transition house, loving on others friends babies and talking with judes nanny some. I am so grateful for her, she loves Jude so much! It was her day off and she was there so she could live on him some more and see him off. She's precious, and she will always hold a special place in my heart. We spent the rest of the day loving on our little guy and trying to stay awake. Jude is such a sweet baby, and his personality has developed so much since we were here last! He is very happy for the most part, but is also much more aware than last time. Yesterday, he spent the day staring at us and checking us out.

This morning, he woke up with his cough worsening and he was acting crummy, so we laid low for the first part, and then took him to the doctor this afternoon. He just has a cold, but they gave me something to help with his cough. The hospital we went to had a clinic side and an inpatient side specializing in OB...it was so interesting! I would have loved to go up and see the unit, but that was not something I was going to ask about when I had a crummy baby, a husband, and friend/translator with me!

We are really doing great. If I could adjust to the 9 hour time change, I'd be doing even better! I will add some pictures soon, but I can't figure out how to do it from my iPhone right now...

the next step

I wish I could put down on paper what the past several months have been like, but really there are no words. God has taken us through a journey that I never want to repeat, but that I appreciate so much. This story is not over, and this week, I take another step in faith. I am flying out Tuesday to be with my son until he can come home on that airplane with me. I am praying it is a short trip, but that is not up to me.

Our case was deemed, "not clearly approvable" by the US Embassy, along with 60+ other families. Investigators from the USCIS will look at each of these cases over the next 2 weeks and make a determination on them. We know God has this story in the palm of His hand, we just don't know how it will play out.

Please keep our family in your prayers as we start a new chapter...one that is joyous and painful at the same time. Pray that the investigators find favor with our case and we can come back home quickly. Pray for safety and health for all of us, far and near. Pray that the girls handle this transition okay, that they know how much they are loved, and that I can survive the time without them. Pray for the time that Jude and I will have together, that it may be full of love and bonding.

I will do my best to update this blog with my life in Ethiopia....