Pictures!

The Beautiful Ethiopian countryside

We could not get this toy out of Mihiretu's mouth after he went to sleep

The kids playing

Mommy and Mihiretu

Daddy and Tigist

Daddy and Mihiretu

Mihiretu playing while mommy changes his first blow-out diaper

Our First Night Home

I can't tell you all how wonderful it is to be in our own home with our children! It's 5:30 am, and we've all been up since 4am. We were able to sleep from 5pm to 4am last night. Mihiretu woke up crying twice but I was able to rock him to sleep both times so we are all feeling fairly rested. The kids are in the family room right now playing with a Noah's Ark their Auntie Jean got them. Tigist is singing something in Hadiya (the language they speak in her village) and I of course can't understand what she is singing, but I can pick out one word, Hallelujah! I asked the guard at the guest house who speaks Hadiya what she was singing about one day and he said it was a praise song. I'm not sure if she is singing the same song, but it's such an amazing feeling to know that she has already been told about the Lord.

Our trip home was extremely long, and the kids each had their moments, but we made it and had the most wonderful welcome home celebration at the airport. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to come greet us. I was in a jet-lag haze, so I'm sure I didn't express my gratitude very well, but I was truly touched and overwhelmed with the love and excitement that greeted us. Hannah, you are amazing! The video you took and posted on our blog is priceless. I watched it this morning while holding Mihiretu in my lap. He was eating a nectarine and "feeding" me with his sticky little fingers. Thank you so much for helping us share our journey with everyone!!

We can't thank you all enough for all your prayers while we were in Ethiopia. They were answered everyday. Jeff and I never got sick, the adoption process and paperwork went extremely smoothly, our children are absolutely beautiful and healthy and we feel like real bonding is already happening. It makes a world of difference that the children were loved so much by their Ethiopian family, I believe that they have and will be able to transfer that attachment to us so much easier. We are so blessed!

As soon as we are unpacked and can find our cameras we'll post pictures from our trip. We had some memory card issues, so we didn't take as many pictures as we wanted, but we'll post a few soon. Thank you all for sharing in our journey!

They are precious in His sight

You should be able to click once on any image to make it bigger.

I can't even begin to tell you how amazing and beautiful these two children are. Here are a few pictures from our time at the airport. I know that there were about 30 cameras going, which means that there were somewhere between 100-1000 pictures taken in the short 20 minutes at the airport. If you happen to have a great pic you would like to share - email it to me and I'd be glad to add it to the blog.

Welcome home!

The family - waiting to meet their new granddaughter/grandson, niece and nephew, etc...

The girls - Sydney, Sophia and Grace -
waiting to meet their new friends!

The Paparazzi!

The Greene family!!!

Neighbors & friends - they'll be sisters in no time.

They're home!

Thanks to all who were able to join us at the airport. We had quite the crew to welcome Tigist and Mihiretu to Oregon. We took many, many, many pictures, but unfortunately I won't be able to post those until late tonight or tomorrow. For now, here is some video of our day.




My favorite quote of the day was from a stranger coming out of the international area. He took one look at all of us and said, "There must be a celebrity that is coming." I wanted to tell him that yes indeed there are four celebrities on their way!

The Greenes are home and (hopefully) catching up and sleep. I am sure we will hear more stories and see lots more pictures as the jet-lag wears off and things settle down.

At Kristen's shower we talked a bit about providing meals for the family as they settle into their new normal routine. We will be coordinating that this weekend and next week. If you would like to bless the Greenes in that way, send me an email so I can add you to our list. My email is hannah@crownrep.com

Please remember to keep Jeff, Kristen, Tigist and Mihiretu in your prayers. We will update with specific prayer requests as we hear more from Jeff and Kristen.

Come say "Hi!"

A "welcome home" party will be meeting at the Portland Airport to greet the Greenes when they arrive tomorrow! If you would like to come see the kiddos and say a quick hello to Jeff and Kristen, we will be meeting in the international arrivals area (downstairs near baggage claim) at noon. We don't know for sure how long it will take to get through customs, but the flight comes in at 11:50 am on Northwest Airlines from Amsterdam, and we don't want to be late.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call Marisa (503-577-8146) or Hannah (503-936-9045).

Hope to see many of you friends and faithful blog readers there tomorrow!

PS: Don't forget your camera!

A Long Trip Home

As we sleep tonight (Wednesday) the Greenes are packing and preparing for the long journey home. Twenty-seven hours of travel with awaits them!

The four will be leaving Ethiopia at 10:45 on Thursday night (that is 8:45 Thursday morning here in the Northwest). They have one stop in Amsterdam before landing in Portland at 11:50 on Friday morning.

Please pray for Jeff and Kristen as they are preparing to leave Ethiopia with their children. Pray for Tigist and Mihiretu that they will understand as much as possible and have peace about this transition. Please pray for the four of them that they will have a smooth trip home, that they will be able to sleep as much as possible, and will have no hang ups at any of the airports. Also, please pray for good seats on both planes, and if possible that they will be seated at a bulk head with a bed for Mihiretu.

48 short hours from now the Greenes will be putting their babies to bed at home!

"Everyone loves her"

An update sent from Jeff at 9:15 Wednesday morning (Portland time).

We picked the kids up yesterday (Tuesday), and had a goodbye ceremony at the care center. It was fun, but a little long and all the kids were crying by the end. We went to the US Embassy and got our visas, it only took about an hour and was pretty easy. Then we came back to the house for the rest of the night and dinner. It went pretty well, except Tigist had a terrible cough, and could not stop coughing at one point.

Tigist coughed most of the night and was pretty fussy, so neither Kristen or I got much sleep. Mihiretu slept great though. Both kids are so much fun. Tigist makes Mihiretu laugh so hard, she tells him what to do. They just love each other, she is always kissing him and it puts a big smile on his face. Kristen is spending most of the time with Mihiretu, because he cries bloody murder if she leaves him now. Today (Wednesday) was a fun day, we stayed at the guest house all day and played with the kids. Tigist took a nice nap, then had another coughing fit so we took her to the doctor. They said she had an infection and gave her some medicine. We just gave her a dose, so hopefully she will be able to sleep better tonight.

Both kids eat like maniacs. They really will eat a whole plate of food each. Plus they eat cheerios nonstop between meals. We just gave both of them baths and got them nice and clean, and are getting them ready for bed. We leave for home tomorrow night!! We can't wait for everyone to meet them. For right now, we don't think it will be too bad to have people around the first couple weeks. There are 7 other families in the guest house right now, and it is going just fine. Tigist is the life of the party here, everyone loves her. She runs around hiding from me and yelling "daddy" all day in her cute Ethiopian accent. We might not get to write again, so if not, we will see you when we get home.

Please pray for Tigist's cough and infection, and that the flight is not absolutely awful.

Together

Not much to report other than today the Greenes are enjoying their first full day of being together!

Please continue to pray for all four, as so much has changed overnight. Continue to pray that the visas will go through without a hitch.

Full Custody!

This morning Jeff and Kristen will enjoy a special going away celebration for the kids at the care center with other children and the nannies. From this point on, Jeff and Kristen will have full custody of Tigist and Mihiretu!

This afternoon they will go to the US Embassy to file all the necessary paperwork to receive the children's US visas.

Tonight will be their first full night together!

Please be praying for peace and joy as the children say goodbye to their nannies and friends at the care center and begin their lives with Jeff and Kristen. Pray that the first night as a family of four goes smoothly. Pray also that all of the paperwork will go through smoothly and that the visas will be ready for the trip home.

"A really fun day"

An update from Jeff - sent Monday at 6 pm west coast time.

Yesterday (Monday) was a really fun day. We got to spend about 4 hours in the morning with the kids back at our guest house. When we first went in to go pick up Mihiretu, he was standing up in his crib holding himself up. When he saw us he started laughing and sticking his tongue out. He has the cutest front teeth when he smiles. He was very happy to see us. We took him back on the bus to go pick up Tigist. She was excited to see us again, and jumped into my arms. When we got to the guest house, we played in the courtyard with the balls they have, and with some of the little cars they have that the kids can play in. Tigist is ridiculously athletic. We were playing soccer and kicking the ball back and forth for about an hour. Then she threw a little ball, and it was just silly. She throws like a major league baseball player. I'm not even kidding.

So that was a fun time with Tigist. Mihiretu was being such a good boy all morning. He was so happy and responsive today. He was playing with his blocks and a little toy car, and just having a jolly old time. We took the kids up to our room for a snack, and the kids both had cheerios. Tigist is a little mother and kept trying to feed Mihiretu, and give him water from the bottle. Then she would kiss him. They both had a snack and water, and then Mihiretu had an AWESOME blowout diarrhea all over my bed, and all over Kristen. Kristen changed him and let him play on the other bed, which he was perfectly content to do.

Then we all went down to eat lunch. They were serving injera with a lentil stew, a meat stew, and creamed corn. They both absolutely loved it. Tigist had about two full plates and Mihiretu had lots of injera. It was really fun. Tigist loves to wash her hands. When she is done eating or going to the bathroom, she washes her hands, then washes her face, then cleans her teeth with her fingers, then spits out the water. She did this probably about 8 times yesterday. She is fully potty trained, and went both #1 and #2 while she was with us yesterday. I got to spend some time with Mihiretu after lunch, and held him for about 20 minutes. He was really good and we played with blocks. He was looking at me, and putting the blocks in my mouth for me to bite, and then he would smile and put his tongue out. After about 20 minutes Tigist got fed up and asked for me to put Mihiretu in mommy's arms so I could pick her up.

Right before we were to take them back to the care center, the four of us were sitting on a swing outside, and Mihiretu fell asleep in Kristen's arms. He slept the whole way back on the bus, and then started crying when we had to give him back. It was a really fun day, but we do realize this is the honeymoon stage.

Today (Tuesday) should be more difficult as we have to go the US Embassy and wait there for a couple hours. Hopefully the kids will be able to take their nap there, since that is the time they usually take it. We take full custody of them this morning (Tuesday), so they'll be sleeping at the guest house and everything from now on. Hopefully the first full day goes okay, and we don't run out of gas too early. We can't wait to come home and have you all meet our kids. Talk with you tomorrow

Site Seeing

Today Jeff and Kristen are looking forward to spending the morning with their children at the care center. In the afternoon they will get to do some site seeing and have the opportunity to visit the adoption agency's Aids orphanage and other facilities they run.

Please continue to pray for Tigist and Mihiretu during this transition. Tonight is the last night they will spend in the care center.

"An incredibly emotional day"

An update from Jeff - sent Sunday at 7:30 pm west coast time.

Yesterday was really an amazing day. We took a four hour trip down south, and saw the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. I have never been to Ireland, but that is what parts reminded me of. Sprawling green hills, lush vegetation, rivers, streams. It was amazing and beautiful. The people, once you get out of the city, are so loving and nice. All they want to do is touch you and shake your hand, and they smile and wave at you. They are so friendly. We stopped in a village along the way and went in someone's hut.

When we got to Hosanna, where the orphanage is that Tigist and Mihiretu were first brought, they brought us in a room, and we had to wait to be called. We still didn't know if the father had come. We were the fourth family called, and sure enough, he came.

Out of all the people I've ever met in my life, I don't think I've met a sweeter or more sincere man. The second we handed him the pictures of Tigist and Mihiretu, he started kissing the frames and holding it to his chest. Then he would kiss the picture of Kristen and I. We got to talk with him for about twenty minutes, and asked him all the questions we had. He asked us a few questions as well. He told us about Mihiretu, and how his nickname was Anshi, because he looked just like his father. We are going to name Mihiretu "Mihiretu Anshi Greene". Then he told us about Tigist, and how much she loved her father. She would run to him and kiss him all over his face he said when he got home from work. Their mother's name was Almaz, and she would sing all day and pray with the kids as well. Anshiso said this is why Tigist would sing and pray every night at the orphanage. Almaz means diamond. We are going to name Tigist "Tigist Almaz Greene".

We got to take pictures with Anshiso, and then the day ended with a candle lighting ceremony, which represented passing on of the children to us. Each said a prayer to each other. This is the prayer we read aloud:

"Through God's divine plan, our journeys have crossed and these your children have created a sacred bond between us. We would like to express our gratitude, which is beyond words, for your willingness to share the joy of your children with us. Thank you for the humbling privilege to open our homes to raise your beautiful children from this point on. May God make us worthy to the measure of the gift that your children are for us. With god's grace, we promise to honor your deep love for them and your rich culture by raising them to be honorable sons and daughters to Ethiopia, now shared with the United States. As a symbol of this passing responsibility we humbly receive these candles from you. May the good lord bless all your family. "

There was not a dry eye in the room.

We got to say goodbye to him, and express our thankfulness to him. It was hard to say goodbye to him because we love him so much. After meeting him, we feel a great amount of responsibility to love the children as much as he did. It was just an incredibly emotional day.

We get to spend all morning with the kids today (Monday), and then take full custody of them tomorrow morning (Tuesday).

Please keep the children's Ethiopian family in your prayers. It is overwhelming to realize how much we are gaining and how much they are losing.

Talk to you all tomorrow-

Jeff and Kristen

Biological Father

The Greenes are on their way to Hosanna, a town four hours south of Addis Ababa. They hope to meet Tigist and Mihiretu's Ethiopian father, if he is able to be there. There is a chance that this meeting won't happen, but they won't know until they get to Hosanna. If they are able to meet him, they will have a 30 minute meeting and be able to ask questions about him, their Ethiopian mother and brothers. Tigist and Mihiretu will NOT be with Jeff and Kristen at this visit, and because of the time spent traveling, the Greenes will most likely not see the kids at all today.

Today please be praying for the meeting between the Greenes and the kid's Ethiopian father. Please pray for safe travels for Jeff and Kristen, pray that the children's biological father will be able to make it, and that he will be willing to answer questions and talk about the family. Please also continue to pray for Tigist and Mihiretu that they will not experience any confusion with Jeff and Kristen being absent today.

Traveling Again

Hey there, it's Kristen!It's 4 in the morning Sunday and we leave soon to travel down south to Hosanna to hopefully meet the kid's Ethiopian father. It's a 4 hour drive there. We won't know if he is able to make it until we get there, but we've heard that most of the time the birth family comes.We get to meet with him for 20 - 30 minutes and ask questions that we will be able to share with the kids later on in life. We will get pictures with him as well. Very special trip! We get home around dinner time and hope to go see the kids for a short time in the evening, but we are not sure if this is possible.Thanks for keeping everything updated on our blog! We've heard from family that everyone is enjoying the updates!

"Daddy!"

Here is a quick "day 2" update from Jeff...

Day 2 was a long one. We got to go see the kids in the morning. Kristen went to see Mihiretu, and I went in another car to go pick up Tigist. Right when I walked in the room, she jumped up and ran to me and jumped in my arms yelling daddy! Then about twenty other kids tried to do the same thing. They were all yelling daddy to me. We then went over and met up with Kristen and Mihiretu. Mihiretu was fussy all day, he was not in a good mood and just was having a bad day. Tigist was good for a while, but I think Mihiretu put a cramp in her style too, and she was fussy for about twenty minutes.

Tigist is a character though. She likes playing tricks. She pretends she loses her coin, and then when we go to help her look for it, she pulls it out of her pocket and laughs at us. She has a lot of personality. After we dropped the kids off, we were taken to the main office, where we met with the social worker, doctor, and nannies of both of our kids. We were able to ask them any questions we wanted. Then they showed us a video of Mihiretu and Tigist birth family. They actually went to where they live, filmed and interviewed the father, and showed the house and plot of land they have. It was really not at all what we expected. We were really surprised how much information they gave us, and it was emotional. We get a copy of it so you will get to see it. They ask the father quite a few questions, and we found out quite a bit that we didn't know. We have been very impressed with the agency so far. Tomorrow we are heading down south to hopefully meet the birth father and ask him our own questions. Hope all is well. Take care.

The Routine

At this point Tigist and Mihiretu are still staying in the care center. Jeff and Kristen are staying in a guest house nearby. Today Jeff and Kristen will spend the morning and afternoon with their children at the care center. The hope is that they will be able to observe the kiddos in a familiar environment, get to know them each better, and learn the routine they have had for the past three months.

Please continue to pray for the bonding that is taking place within this new family. Pray for peace and understanding for the children and for patience for Jeff and Kristen as they transition into this role of parents.

"Our first day together was perfect!"

Friends, I was able to have a brief conversation with Kristen online this afternoon. They are having a little difficulty with their email, but we were able to chat and get quite a bit information about their children. I'm passing this on, first from Kristen's point of view, and then from Jeff's. Since this was a two-sided conversation, I had to paraphrase a bit so not everything is a direct quote from Kristen...

The babies are amazing! They are MORE beautiful in person. I'm not kidding, they are gorgeous. Tigist is just beautiful and is already a daddy's girl! Meeting her could not have gone better. She came right to us, she was a bit shy at first, but gave us both a hug and a kiss and was smiling the whole time. She went to both Jeff and I very easily, and definitely favored her daddy the rest of the time. She always wants her daddy to pick her up! We watched Peter Pan for a while and she kept looking at both of us and smiling.

Tigist seems to understand what is happening. There are pictures of us in their rooms and when the nannies point and ask who they are she says "mommy and daddy." The social worker at the care center says that Tigist has seen many children go with families, so she understands that she will be leaving with us. Of course it's hard to know if she fully understands what that means.

We met her at her school and then traveled to the care center where Mihiretu is. While we were waiting to meet Mihiretu, we were playing with bubbles with Tigist. I have never seen someone have so much fun! I would blow the bubbles and she would chase after them laughing her head off! She kept saying something over and over in Amharic, we guess it was something like "I'm going to get you bubbles" as she chased them all over.

We then went to the toddler room to see Mihiretu. Mihiretu is so cute - he even has a dimple in his left cheek! He definitely is very shy and would avoid eye contact for a while. He favored the nanny so we didn't push anything and just let him sit there while we played for a while. He was reaching for something on the ceiling so I took my chance to pick him up and help him reach the toy hanging from the ceiling. He let me hold him the rest of the time and even started falling asleep in my arms! While I was playing with Mihiretu, Jeff and Tigist were definitely playing with Barbies! Mihiretu didn't go to Jeff at first, but on our 2nd visit he let Jeff hold him. He was holding eye contact so much better.

The most recent social report we got from the care center said that when Tigist first got to the orphanage, she wouldn't go to sleep until they sang and prayed!!! She loves to sing! I thought that was amazing that she sings and prays before bed, her parents must have done that with her.

The language barrier is a little frustrating with Tigist, only because we want her to know how much we love her and what a beautiful girl she is. We've learned 'I love you' in Amharic and she giggled when we told her.

Tigist is very tiny, but tall. It's hard to imagine how tiny she is until you see her and hold her
Mihiretu is very much a 12 month old in every way (we were thinking he was closer to 18 months). They are both very healthy! They look great! I wonder sometimes if he is not as old as they thing he is. He's still not walking and doesn't seem to talk at all. He's very very small, even compared to other children his age or younger who are small. His gross motor skills are so much like a 12 month old. When I think that Sydney is supposedly only a few months older it really is crazy! He looks perfectly healthy though and that's what's important

Right now the kids sleep in different buildings. Mihiretu is in a crib, and sleeps in the toddler building. Tigist sleeps in a bunk bed with the older kids. Apparently they only see each other once a week, which made me sad. When we take full custody of them they will sleep in our room in the guest house. We have a queen bed, a twin bed and a little crib in our room. On Tuesday we bring them to our guest house and don't take them back!

There are seven other families, and to be honest our first meetings went extremely well compared to others. Everyone was amazed how Tigist took to us so quickly.

We all rode on the bus when we left the care center, but had Tigist with us to take her back to her school. She was so cute and when she got off the bus she waved bye to everyone and said "chow" which is bye in Amharic. It was so cute. She just cuddled up to her daddy on the bus ride and was chatting away in Amharic. Who knows what she was saying, but she seems like such a happy girl. I'm sure we'll have our moments with her, but our first day together was perfect!

It's midnight here, but Jeff and I absolutely passed out at 5:30 last night so we are up now. Jet lag was awful and then meeting the kids was overwhelming and draining so we both crashed before dinner. I'll try and get a hold of you again tonight or tomorrow. Today is Saturday here and we get to spend the afternoon with the kids as well as time with the social workers to ask questions about the kids. We also get to go to a traditional Ethiopian show and dinner tonight which should be fun as well as do a little shopping.

Please thank everyone for their prayers. The peace I had before we met the kids was amazing
and when we met them it went so well!

Tell the Colemans we said Hi and that we love E-opia!


The following is from Jeff:
We got to meet Tigist and Mihiretu yesterday. What a day. We got on the bus and they dropped us off first to go to where Tigist is. Her and about 20 other toddlers were watching a movie, and we went to the back of the room. They called her out and told her who we were. She was shy at first, but went up to both Kristen and I and kissed us. Then she sat in Kristen's arms for about five minutes and kept giving us shy eyes.

After the movie, they took us to go see Mihiretu. We had about a twenty minute wait with Tigist, so we broke out the bubbles. She absolutely loved them and was laughing and talking in Amharic. By the way, she is absolutely beautiful. She really doesn't look a whole lot like her picture. She is just tiny, you really can't understand til you see her. She loves to be picked up, she was in my arms for probably about an hour of the two hours we were with her. She has beautiful hair and really nice white teeth. Back to the bubbles, she had the time of her life and is a really happy girl.

We all three then went in to see Mihiretu. It is pronounced how we have been saying it. Tigist said it several times. M was very shy at first, he would barely make eye contact. He was being held by a nanny. After about 20 minutes, Kristen got to finally pick him up and play with him. He was very cuddly in her arms, and nestling under her shoulder. He almost fell asleep after about five minutes. We got to go back at night and see him again, and he was in a totally different mood. He was more playful, and K and I both got to pick him up and play with him. There were things hanging from the ceiling which he just loved. And get this, he has a dimple just like him mom. He has the brightest smile you will ever see. He is really small as well, able to hold himself up but not walk on his own. He even has a little belly. His personality is much more shy and to himself. The social report says he is just fine entertaining himself, and that he has become much happier and outgoing since he's been at the care center.

All in all, we are both blown away at how perfect they both are. We couldn't love them more. I think Tigist might already have me wrapped around her finger. I held her everywhere we went and when she wanted to be held she would lift her arms up at me. We get to see them both again this morning, and can't wait. Thank you all for your prayers, they are being answered.

Meet and Greet

Today the Greenes will see their babies for the very first time! According to their schedule, Jeff and Kristen will get a short visit (approximately 30 minutes) with the kids in the late morning, but plan to spend more time with Tigist and Mihiretu in the afternoon.

Please be praying for this new family of four! Pray that the children will not be afraid and will attach quickly to both Jeff and Kristen.


**Jeff and Kristen should have some free time to contact home and check in. If I hear anything, I will post again asap!

Arrival!

The Greenes will arrive in Addis Ababa today - Thursday, August 21. Their plane is scheduled to land at 9:05 pm in Ethiopia, which is 11:05 am in Portland. After gathering all of their luggage, and making their way through customs, they will head to the guest house and (hopefully) sleep.

Today please continue to pray for their safety while traveling, an easy entry into the country (through customs, etc...), peace of mind so they may sleep soundly, and patience as they are now closer to their babies than ever before, but will not see them until the morning!

On Their Way!

Jeff and Kristen left Portland this morning at 6:30 am. They first fly to Minnesota, then on to Amsterdam before finally arriving in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Today please be praying for safe travel, easy connections, quick layovers, and friendly customs workers.

How It All Began

I have finally joined the world of blogging! I thought it was an appropriate time to start as Jeff and I are only 1 day away from traveling to Ethiopia to meet our children for the first time. We would love to share this journey with you all as we get ready to leave and hope to post as often as possible once in Ethiopia.

As we are so close to completing our adoption process and beginning our new life as a family of four, I thought I could share a little about how the whole process came about. Back in March 2007, Jeff out of the blue told me he had been researching International Adoption. I didn't quite know what this meant at first, but as he continued sharing his heart I realized that the Lord was speaking to Jeff about starting a family through adoption. I was blown away by this, especially because I thought that I would be the one initiating the adoption process! Jeff and I had always talked about adopting, but in my mind this was years in the future after we had biological children. I must tell you that at that point in my life I was not ready to have children, or so I thought. Many of my close girlfriends were pregnant and having babies and the baby bug never got me. I thought something must be wrong with me since I didn't want to get pregnant and have babies. However, I now know that this wasn't God's plan for us and our babies would be coming a different way. I was instantly on board when Jeff told me he thought we should adopt first.

So began our research on what country our children would come from. We eliminated some countries that we didn't qualify for (such as China, we are not old enough) Africa was never a country that I had considered adopting from, but as Jeff and I researched it more and more we both felt that this was exactly where we were suppose to go! We loved the culture and rich heritage that Ethiopia had. The people are absolutely beautiful and we just found ourselves falling in love with this country. We found an agency that has an amazing care center in Ethiopia and began the application process in May 2007. We completed and submitted all of the necessary paperwork in August and were then placed on the waiting list, requesting siblings under 4 years old. 9 months later (May 2008) we received the amazing news that we had a boy and a girl waiting for us. It's been about 3 months since then and we are absolutely thrilled to finally be on our way to meet these precious children and start our family.

We have so appreciated all of the love, support and prayers we have received from our family and friends. It is such an amazing feeling to know our children are already loved by so many. Thank you for sharing this journey with us.