Vaccination Fun!

Today, Brad and I went to get our shots to travel to Ethiopia. Yes, most people get their shots while in the process of adopting (during the dossier process or right thereafter). Except us. We have been in this adoption process for 2 1/2 years and we still haven't been vaccinated! But really for good reason.....I have researched all the shots we could possibly receive and have asked endless numbers of people, endless numbers of questions, endless numbers of times about our vaccinations. It has always kind of scared me about getting EIGHT vaccinations and having all those "ills" swimming around in our bodies! The CDC only requires people traveling to Ethiopia to receive the Hep A series and we have been told if we only stay in Addis Ababa (where the elevation is higher with no incidence of mosquitos, etc.) we won't have to get the other vaccinations. However, now that we have our referral and know that we might be able to travel south to meet our children's birth family, we might be suseptible to other diseases to which we need to be vaccinated.

Here is the long list of vaccines: Hep A & B series (meaning 2 or 3 shots spaced out between several months), Polio, Tetanus, Meningitis, Tetanus, Typhoid, Yellow Fever and Malaria (which are actually in pill form).

Brad has always been of the mindset, "Just load us up with everything just in case", but I have always been a little more leary. I had printed off the Adult Vaccination Chart of when and what vaccinations adults should have and brought it with me (the nurses just looked at me like I was a complete LOON!) But honestly, who can remember when you were last vaccinated for Tetanus or Polio??

So, we were in the doctor's office and I kept saying, "But didn't we have to be vaccinated for (fill in the blank) when we went to college??", as Brad was getting more annoyed at me saying, "Look, both of your arms will just be sore for a few days....no big deal! It is worth getting ALL the shots!" And while I really do agree, I just wanted the doctor to tell us it is being OVER-precautious to get all these shots.....but he didn't.

So, we left his office with 2 shots (one in each arm) of Hep A and Hep B. He said we need to come back to receive the rest at a later time before we travel. That seemed really nice to me since I think he was trying to give us a compromise (or maybe just wanted us to pay another copay which never really occured to me until now)!

So guess whose arms are NOT sore one bit and guess whose arms and neck started getting stiff an hour after the shots?

Yes, I am typing this post in a semi-paralyzed state. Wonder what the morning holds for me?

Breakfast in Bed!

Look what I woke up to this morning...........breakfast in bed!!!

For the past few weeks, both of the kids have been getting up in the middle of the night and crawling into our bed for various reasons. The reasons range anywhere from "I'm scared!" to "I think the bathroom nightlight is going to catch the whole house on fire!" to "I thought you might be cold, and I could make you all 'warmy' (as Elijah calls it)". I told them that they are keeping us up at night and it makes us really tired the next day. So, they both got up early this morning and made me a wonderful breakfast of pretzels, a granola bar and a nectarine with a glass of water! As you can see, they brought it to me on Isabella's Strawberry Shortcake tray accompanied with a "Good Morning!" note....so cute!

Best. Kids. EVER!

COURT DATE!!!!

“He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.”
Job 9:10

Brad called Natalie this afternoon to ask a few questions and she tells him that she has good news! She proceeded to tell him that we have been issued a court date on....

AUGUST 5th!!!

We cannot believe we received a court date so soon, but we are rejoicing that things seem to be moving along!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

Please continue to remember us in your prayers as we are hopeful for a successful court date! If our court date is successful, Y and K will be legally our children and we could be traveling to Ethiopia by the end of August to bring them home!!!!

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17

Two Precious Blessings!!!

After two years of praying and waiting for the Lord to reveal our children to us, we received a phone call from our social worker yesterday at 12:53 PM giving us the news of our referral of our precious little ones. It was one of the most (if not the most) surreal and emotional day I have EVER experienced! Let me fast forward and give the important details first:

Our referral was for a boy and girl, both 3 1/2 years old, not twins but first cousins, one month apart! I don't think I am allowed to post their names yet (and I know I am not allowed to post their pictures) until they are legally our children, but please trust me when I say that they are incredibly beautiful and just perfectly precious! We are over-the-moon, our hearts melting, in LOVE!! I cannot even express our urgent desire to travel quickly to love on them and bring them home!!!

Okay, so backing up.....I had basically resigned to the fact that with everything going on with the courts, we would not receive our referral until the fall, court in the winter and travel in February '09!!! I did not want to expect any sooner and get disappointed!

Brad was home today, and in the kitchen, while I had just sat down to check my email. My mailbox had reached 1,000 messages and no more could be delivered so I was a little annoyed at having to clear everything off and wondering if I had missed an important email. I saw a bazillion emails from our adoption yahoo group with the title, "GREAT NEWS!", and I started to get anxious trying to figure out what the GREAT NEWS was! I quickly started reading and then I saw an email from our caseworker, and quickly opened it. I scanned the email that says that there has been some movement in the cases and so our agency will be issuing referrals.....TODAY!!! (except I thought it said next week for some reason!!) So, I ran screaming into the kitchen to tell Brad the news (my heart racing) and yelled at him to come into the study so I can read the email to him. As I am reading the email, I realize it says, "TODAY" and I immediately try to prepare myself that I won't be called today (again, so I won't get disappointed). We talked about it for a minute and then he went back into the kitchen.

I felt so sad and anxious, I decided to pray about it except I didn't even know what to pray for! I thought, "Do I pray (or more like BEG!!) that the Lord would deliver our referral today?" or "Do I pray for patience?" (since I was just positive our referral would be months away!). So, as I was praying for both, the phone rang at 12:53 PM! Thinking it was my sister calling from her new job (and the Caller ID said "Out of Area" instead of "Unknown" like many people have said our agency's number pops up as), I picked it up with ease. I heard Natalie (our caseworker) speak and even though my heart fluttered a little, I convinced myself she was calling about needing a paper signed that we had not yet emailed her. As soon as she said she was calling with our referral, I lost all time and space!! Literally, time stood still! I immediately went into the "Ugly cry" asking her if she was serious!? She assured me she was and I ran into the kitchen screaming to Brad that Natalie was on the phone and we have our referral! Poor thing....his face went ghostly white and the kids started cheering! We both ran into the study and grabbed the other phone. I had to let Brad take over the whole computer thing since I seriously could not funtion. It was the most bizarre feeling ever! She emailed us the pictures and documents on the children but my computer said it would take 48 MINUTES to download everything!! We promptly moved to Brad's email and when he pulled up the pictures of the kids, I truly believe our hearts skipped a beat! We both cried and kissed and hugged and cried some more! We then quickly opened the other documents and she went over every detail with us (which was wonderful!!) About 3/4 of the way through, I totally blanked out. I was in complete overload and I was needing to digest everything that was just given to us. And, really, I just wanted to stare at their pictures! We were on the phone with her for about an hour and afterwards, Brad and I got to stare at their faces and spend some precious sweet time together basking in the blessings from the Lord!

We then began to call everyone and I did not get off the phone until 12:30 AM!! I had sent out an email with a few of their pictures around 9:45 PM since I realized I wouldn't have enough time to call everyone! I always wondered why families wait several hours and sometimes even days to post about their referral....and now I know why. It is the most amazing experience that I know of but also an incredibly emotional one that drains you quickly. I cannot even begin to imagine what we will experience when we actually travel to Ethiopia and meet them, hold them, love on them, etc. but I cannot wait!!!

I am sure I will be posting updates soon! We are praising the Lord for His continuous guidance and blessings during this process!! Please pray for us during this time as we continue prepare ourselves and our hearts for these precious children whom we already love as our own! Please also remember the children, as their story is one of sadness and, I am sure, feeling incredibly lonely, scared and grievous. Please pray that we might receive a quick and successful court date so we can travel to Ethiopia soon and bring them home!!!

"He will bring things about at the proper time--He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords" 1 Timothy 6:15