The Puzzle has been solved ...

We have booked our flights! Ethiopia ready or not here we come! It sure has been a mess to figure out. We have 3 weeks until we leave... whoo hoo! We have completed all our vaccines, got meds to take with us and booked flights so far. Not bad.. right? We got new pictures of Jonas on Friday from a travel group. He has gotten so big! It's hard to see pictures when he's grown so much. But seeing glimpses of him keep me going. We saw for the 1st time a birthmark next to his left eye. My grandmother use to say those were angel kisses. ahh.. Brooke and Parker are just so excited about their baby brother coming home. We got a calendar so we can count the days left.
We had a full weekend! Here are a few pictures to share with ya. ..

We do a magic rock jar for being kind.. every time I catch them doing something nice they receive a magic rock. When the jar is full we get to do something fun as a family. This time we went to the movies. It was fun .. I think Parker is going to be our movie guy .. he belly laughs at the funny parts and it cracks me up.

Parker was scared of the loud noise in the entrance of upcoming movies .. Brooke was comforting him
Brooke is one strong little girl determined to do anything including riding a motorcycle double her size
We went to an arts festival.. they got new sunglasses for the 1st day of Spring
Goofy Parker

They are showing their artistic ability at the arts festival
One of Brooke's closest friends at school had a birthday party.
When they saw each other they ran to give hugs.. ahhh..

It was a busy weekend as usual but I do stop and take in all the blessings around me. God has really showered me with gifts. Never forget to cherish the moments even in the fast pace of life. Time is just too precious. I'm enjoying this time in preparations of what is to come.

Embassy Date

After waiting forever it seemed like we have just found out our Embassy date is April 21st! That means we will be traveling around the 15th of April. It is less than a month away and there is still lots to get done. I'm sure the time will go by very fast. We will first meet our child on Monday, April 19th he will be exactly 7 months old. We are starting to figure out our travel arrangements. It's like figuring out a puzzle. A little bad news is that the US Embassy still must approve everything which could not be until right before we leave. Please pray all our things are in order! Things are starting to change with Ethiopian adoptions. All the changes are for the good in the long run but hard for those in the middle of the process.
So, the packing and getting ready for our trip begins. Where to start is the question? Here we come baby Jonas.. oh the feel of him in my arms is just around the corner.

Daddy Daughter Dance

Last night was the First annual Daddy Daughter Dance for Brooke and Scott. Oh how I remember these when I was a kid. We didn't have them until I was in Jr. high but they sure did mean the world to me as little girl. It was one of my fondest memories with my dad. One that I hold close to my heart as he's not with me anymore. He treated me like a true lady. My dad always held me up on a pedestal that he cherished so much. At the dance I would stand on my dads feet and look into his eyes. I could always feel his love for me. He was just so proud of me. I can honestly thank my dad for the foundation he gave me to find such a loving and wonderful husband. It's such a special bond that God gave us between Dads and Daughters. One that is priceless and so very important in little girls for the rest of their lives. This is a letter from our Pastor's father..one that all dad's can take to remember. Even if you don't have a daughter dance at your church. I would encourage them to have a date night. He sent it this week to prepare them for the big night. It was just so special! Please read below..


Dear Dad,
Friday, March 5th is just a few days away, so I would like to take a moment to encourage you to be intentional in making this year's Daddy Daughter Dance a memorable evening for both you and your special young lady. I didn't have daughters, but as you may have heard me say, "Every time one of my granddaughters walks into the room, my heart melts and I want to give her the world."
The influence of a godly man is crucial in the development of a girl's self-esteem, and this relationship will set a pattern for the attributes in men she will seek as an adult. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to set, or reiterate, the standard for how you believe she deserves to be treated, and to let her know that anything less is unacceptable for her as a woman.
Here are a few ideas and suggestions provided by the Daddy-Daughter Dance Committee to help you make this a time to communicate the value and beauty that both you and God see in her.
Let her know that you are looking forward to your evening together. Review this map to plan your activities together.
Approach this as a special date. Formally ask her out; get dressed up for her; buy her a corsage or flowers; open her car door for her; tell her how beautiful she looks.
Practice dancing with her before the dance so that both of you feel comfortable dancing together that evening this will help improve her confidence, as well as yours!
You'll be served "child friendly" desserts, so you'll want to take her out for a meal before the dance.
Let her know in actions and words that you desire to spend quality time with her.
Compliment her tell her how beautiful she is, how much you enjoy her company, how there isn't anywhere you would rather be.
To stay focused on her, leave your cell phone in the car or at home.
At the end of the evening, let her know you had a wonderful time.
Again, thank you for taking this time to invest in your her future. I hope it will be an event you both will treasure. I know it will impact your relationship with God and with each other.
Sincerely,

Dr. Joel C. HunterSenior Pastor

Northland, A Church Distributed

Sweet kisses

Parker said "Brooke you look gorgeous" ahh

It was date night for Parker and I too! First stop, Toy R Us for a new Thomas train, Chick Fila, then playing at the mall with our friend Mason, and ending the night with cuddling on the couch watching Thomas (his favorite show)

Double dating with the Lyla Grace and Lily
Dinner before the big dance

Face painting and dancing the night away

Brooke takes her dance very seriously

Brooke got home at 10pm just so happy.. she couldn't stop telling me everything. I know this is one night she won't forget and one she will cherish as much as I do now. I can't wait for the many years of daddy daughter dances to come. Its a foundation Scott is building for her future husband some day. What an amazing guy he's going to have to be:)

Our Celebrating Ethiopian Dinnner

Our sweet friends on Monday night brought us dinner. They bought us Ethiopian food.. she figured it out how to make it. It was the kids 1st time having it.. I was surprised Parker loved it and Brooke enjoyed the bread the most. What a great treat to have to celebrate passing court. Thanks so much Jessica for thinking of us!

THE Garage Sale

Last weekend was our garage sale. We thought this would be a great way to raise money to help with our flights. It is excepted to cost us around 1800 a ticket. I think our goal was to hit around 1000. We had MANY amazing friends donated all kinds of items to sell. Our plan was to have it just Saturday and a little Sunday well plans changed. Friday, we were setting up and organizing all the items so we decided to put signs up while we were getting ready. It was a gorgeous day! People slowly came throughout the day until 5.. we made $70o.. can you believe that?! Then Saturday morning came full of heavy clouds in the sky. We got there around 6:30am after an hour or so setting up it began to rain .. yucky rain all over the stuff .. we threw stuff everywhere we could find a place in the garage all the organizing went out the window. People still came .. LOTS of them .. we were all cramped in a garage wet and very cold .. I had no idea people would still come! We made it that day until 1pm and guess what we made.. in the rain .. 700 CRAZY! I couldn't believe it. God had really shown up and exceeded our expectations! Sunday was the last day it was beautiful finally Brooke and Parker were able to set up a Hot Chocolate stand (see below). Our goal this day was to blow it out. To get rid of it all.. We did just that!

Scott and I with his Grandmother ..isn't she the cutest thing ever she's almost 90 years old.

Pa and Parker having fun on a kids bike we were selling

At Preston and Kim's house busy selling all the items, Thanks so much for hosting it!!
The archers of the group

Enjoying the beautiful day

I think Brooke could be a good sales women :)

Brooke busy at work and Parker found a train set we were selling .. he played on it ALL day...ended up keeping it:)

After seeing the picture above.. Parker went and got a haircut and came back with a popsicle that we shared with Brooke .. so sweet!

I caught Allee (below) sleeping .. Pops quickly followed until someone wanted to buy the rugs.

I couldn't have done it without these two ladies below! THANK YOU!

We sold until 5pm and sold so much to come to a Grand total of $2700!! CRAZY!! I don't want to ever hear anyone say they can't adopted because of money. Because God is bigger than we can ever imagine. This went beyond our expectations to reach just 1000... little faith did I have. So many people helped by giving there things, by showing up to buy and by helping me setup and sell and most of all by praying. THANK YOU, THANK YOU dear friends for digging and searching for things for us to sell. It means so much to be supported by some really wonderful friends and family! We could have never been able to do this without you all! God totally takes all the details and works them out. We should never doubt how big he is .. I just love to see him show up in Huge ways like this! If your hearts desire is to have a child through adopion it can and will be done! Just have faith that he is bigger than our desires and he wants so badly to give you the desires of your heart.

We are a FAMILY OF .....

5!! WE HAVE GREAT NEWS.. ... WE PASSED!!! Thank you to everyone out there praying for us .. I just can't believe our sweet baby Jonas is ours .. yes.. I said JONAS!!! He is officially in our family and we are just so EXCITED!! YEAH .. I'm screaming from the rooftops with joy. In the adoption world we have just given birth:) Ah what an amazing feeling it is to be a MOM again to a precious little boy!

We have to wait now on our Embassy date but we will be traveling sometime in April.. YEAH God .. Scott said .. I want to go today and get him ... ahh me too! Well, I wanted to share the news as I know lots of you are dying to know as we were too. I have so much to post about from the garage sale this weekend it was a HUGE success and we did beyond our expectations! God is just so Good .. no GREAT all the time! LOVE to you all and thanks for all the amazing support and prayers. Now it's time to go get our baby JONAS!